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'Brainstorm' author to speak at Amador Theater at 7 p.m. tonight

Talk will focus on book's title: 'The Power and Purpose of the Teenage Brain'

by
Dolores Fox Ciardelli / Pleasanton Weekly

Daniel Siegel, author of "Brainstorm: The Power and Purpose of the Teenage Brain." (Contributed photo)

Best-selling author and teacher Daniel Siegel will discuss his popular book, "Brainstorm: The Power and Purpose of the Teenage Brain" in a presentation at 7 p.m. tonight at the Amador Theater in Pleasanton.

In the book, Siegel draws on research to show how brain development affects adolescent behavior -- and how parents can better relate to their teenagers during this tumultuous time.

Topics covered will include popular myths about teenage behavior; why teens are driven to seek out novelty and take more risks; how the brain undergoes rapid changes, even throughout one's early 20s (i.e., the rebellious "teen" years don't end when teens hit 20); and why adolescence is a "golden age" of innovation and creativity.

Siegel is a clinical professor of psychiatry at the UCLA School of Medicine, co-director of the UCLA Mindful Awareness Research Center and executive director of the Mindsight Institute. A graduate of Harvard Medical School, he is the co-author of two classic parenting books, "Parenting from the Inside Out" and "The Whole-Brain Child."

The event is being sponsored by the Pleasanton Literary Arts Program and Towne Center Books. Tickets are $10 at the door, and also available online at www.firehousearts.org or by calling 931-4848. The Amador Theater is located at 1155 Santa Rita Road, on the Amador Valley High School campus.